At this time, it is estimated that more than 5 million blue-eyed flowers are in full bloom, showing off their colors, creating giant green blankets, covering the gentle hills in Hitachi Seaside Park, located on the coast of Hitachi City in Ibaraki Prefecture, one of the most famous summer destinations in Japan.
With a total area of 350 hectares, of which about 200 hectares are for visitors, Hitachi Park is known as a flower paradise with many different flowers blooming in four seasons. Among them, the most prominent are blue-eyed flowers, tulips, sunflowers, cosmos, daffodils or kochia bushes that turn red in autumn.
The annual Blue Eye Flower Festival at the park attracts a large number of visitors from home and abroad. Visitors can stroll along the small paths around the hillside of Miharashi No Oka to see the blue eye flowers in full bloom. From Tokyo, it takes about 1 hour to get from Tokyo Station to Katsuta, the closest stop to Hitachi Park. Then, take a bus for another 20 minutes to reach the park entrance.
But this year, the place is deserted. No tourists come here to visit or take pictures like every year, because of the social distancing regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The entire Hitachi Seaside Park has been closed since early April to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the land of the rising sun. Instead of crowds of people coming to see the flowers in the park, this year, the blue-eyed flower hill peacefully bloomed, showing off its romantic, peaceful beauty.
This year, blue-eyed flower lovers can only see it through the park’s website. Staff members are assigned to film each area of the flower garden, giving visitors the most familiar views, helping them ease the regret of having to stay home during this time.
"We filmed 360-degree footage of the blue-eyed flower garden and the rapeseed flower garden - which are in full bloom - to share with viewers during the time of limited public access," said Yasunori Tamura, a representative of Hitachi Park. "We hope that Covid-19 patients will soon recover and the world will soon overcome this difficulty. Visitors from all over the world can come here to see flowers and enjoy life again."
